Heavy rain floods Gaza tents as reconstruction and ceasefire plans stall

Heavy rain has flooded tents sheltering displaced Palestinians across Gaza. Gaza's civil defence said it had received more than 1,500 emergency calls from people whose makeshift homes were destroyed by floodwater. BBC News reported that civil defence officials lacked the equipment needed to respond.

ITV reported that the first major storm of the season exposed the fragility of temporary shelters and war-damaged infrastructure. It described a torrent of rainfall and sewage pouring through the territory. In a report from southern Israel, Rachel Townsend said more than a million displaced Palestinians would be hearing a similar sound.

Reports differed on the number of tents flooded. Channel 4 said overnight rain had flooded about 70,000 tents housing displaced Palestinians. BBC News said tens of thousands of tents were flooded. ITV said thousands of tents were flooded.

Channel 4 reported that the UN estimates nearly a million displaced Palestinians are living in areas at risk of flooding. BBC News reported that four in five people in Gaza are living in improvised tents or crowded shelters, where entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed in the two-year war against Hamas.

ITV broadcast testimony from displaced families. A father carrying his two children said, "just look at them, this isn't right". A young girl said, "Get us proper tents, get us houses just like yours. I am so tired." ITV reported that 1,600 Gazans had been killed in Israeli strikes since last year's ceasefire and that the military operation continued. It also reported that journalists are still not allowed inside Gaza, so it spoke to charities remotely. The charities described a choice between a worn-out tent that could be torn apart or swept away, and a damaged building at risk of collapse.

In a report by Zara Wasami, Channel 4 said more than a year after the official ceasefire began there was no evidence of President Donald Trump's plans to rebuild Gaza. It said there were no skyscrapers and no "Gaza Riviera", despite an AI video posted on Truth Social nearly two years ago. Gaza is still covered in rubble, Israeli strikes are almost a daily occurrence and not enough humanitarian aid is being let through, Channel 4 reported.

Jennifer Gavito, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under President Biden, told Channel 4 that Trump had paid very little attention to implementing the 20-point plan. She said the Board of Peace was "the best thing that Gaza has going for it right now" but had shown itself to be "relatively toothless". Channel 4 also reported that Trump told Fox News on voting day that the US would stop paying Israel by the end of the year, saying Israel had become a successful country.

BBC News reported that neither side won a parliamentary majority in Israel's election. It said Eisenkot had the most support from other parties and had ruled out an alliance with Arab-led parties. ITV later reported a possible breakthrough, saying Israel's president had invited the opposition leader in the post-election deadlock.